Connected TV owners up OTT viewing

More than half of consumers with a smart TV have increased their use of over-the-top TV services in the last year, according to a new US study by research firm The Diffusion Group (TDG). 

The third quarter study said that, among adult broadband users that use an internet-connected TV, 24% said they had “significantly” increased their viewing of online video sources compared on their TV set compared to the same time the year before.

Some 28.5% said that their OTT viewing habits had “increased slightly” and 33.7% thought they had stayed the same.

However, only 7.7% said their online viewing had decreased – meaning that net-connected TV users are six times more likely to have increased their use of the medium than to have decreased it

“That consumers are watching more over-the-top video is not itself surprising. But to see such a widespread increase in OTT TV viewing is dramatic, especially as pay-TV subscriptions in the US are experiencing their greatest 12-month losses to date,” said Michael Greeson, co-founder of TDG.